From astronomy to geography

Click here for other design errors


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Wrong rainbow
In a rainbow, you will find the purple colour at the other side, near the blue, not near the red.


CHINA 1988



Twin-star comet
Did you know that Halleys comet had a twin-star ?


UNITED KINGDOM



People on the moon !
The only place where this nice family can watch the earth is … on the moon !


SAN MARINO 1946



Big ship hitting ther moon !
Look carefully at the ship on the right, you will see the moon stuck in the ropes of its sail.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1973



Lost sun
The complete southern part of the earth is dark, as if the sun were shining straight on the northpole.


AUSTRALIA 1955



Two suns
The sunlight on the earth and the moon clearly comes from two different directions, as if two suns were involved.


SWITZERLAND



New planet
The planet Venus has disappeared, while an unknown planet is circling around the sun on the same lane as the earth.


GERMANY 1973



Comet U-turn
Have you ever seen Halley's comet changing its mind, and making a U-turn in the sky ?


BOTSWANA 1986



Planet ballet.
All the planets have their own moon, and are circling around the sun on the same lane.


FRENCH POLYNESIA 1973



Broken sunrays
The sunrays are broken by the handle of this shovel


GERMANY 1947



Upside down
Jupiter is represented upside down


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1975



Wrong globe.
Impossible to recognise the continents on this globe, they only exist in the imagination of the designer.

Non-error ?


AUSTRIA 1955



Big shadow
As the sun is far away, the shadow of a plane on earth can never be larger than the plane itself.


CAMEROON



Setting sun.
When someone pointed out that the first official issue of the new-born state did not show a rising sun, but a setting sun over the eastern front of the castle, the design was revised, and the sun carefully removed !


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1918



Rising sun.
The designer wanted a rising sun, as symbol for the nazi-regime. But he put it in the west, prefiguring perhaps the fall of that regime.


GERMANY 1943



Missing color.
Wrong colors in this rainbow- correct on the other stamp.


ISRAEL



Big plane !
As the sun is far away, the sunbeams are almost parallel, thus the shadow of a plane on earth can never be larger than the plane itself.


NEW CALEDONIA 1940



Planet ballet.
All the planets have their own moon, and are circling around the sun on the same lane.


FRENCH POLYNESIA 1973



Big shadow
As the sun is far away from the earth, the sunbeams are almost parallel. Thus the shadow of a plane on earth cannot be taller than the plane itself.


REUNION 1947



Sun at night
The man on the Nautilus' deck is busy taking the altitude of the sun ....in the moon light.


FRANCE 1955



Huge comet
The sight of Halley's comet is somewhat exaggerated.


MALDIVES 1985



Not realistic
The size and the distance between sun and planets is completely wrong.


GERMANY 2009



Wrong colors
Wong colors of the rainbow.


NICARAGUA 1995



Transparent moon
As a symbol, a star in a moon crescent is acceptable. But not to illustrate a landscape, as this star lies behind the non illuminated surface of the moon.


AZERBAIDJAN 1919



Southern Cross
Wrong representation of the Southern Cross constellation


VICTORIA 1886-8



Southern Cross
Wrong representation of the Southern Cross constellation


VICTORIA 1901



Wrong position
Sun comes up or goes down in the Nord.


BRAZIL 1930



Wrong shadow
The shadow in the arch is inconsistent with the dark frontside, and thus with the sun shining from left.


CANADA 1939



Out of proportion
Halley's comet filling the sky, a little bit out of proportion.


CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 1986



Mixed constellations
The Lepus (Hare) and Lupus (Wolf) constellations were interchanged.


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1967



Impossible combination
The sun crown is only visible during a total sun eclips, and thus cannot be seen together with the black spots on the sun surface.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1964



Giant step
Thos footstep covers almost the complete surface of the moon.


BENIN 1989



Three errors
The moon map is showed upside down, UHR after the landing time is not necessary as there is already an H after 22, an the landing happened two days before full moon, not after full moon as depicted.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1959



New planet
A second planet visible from the moon ?


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1981



Wrong direction
According to this stamp, in Port-au-Prince the sun rises or sets in the South.


MARTINIQUE 1922



Too big
Geant footstep on the moon.


AFGHANISTAN 1969



Wrong title
Ed. Halley was never knighted, and the length of the comet is somewhat exaggerated.


NIGER 1985



Exaggerated
The size and the proportion of the Halley comet are really exaggerated.


SIERRA LEONE 1985



Geant meteor
In one of the craters the meteor which hit the moon surface did not desintegrate and is still visible.


MANAMA



Wrong colors
Wong colors of the rainbow.


MONGOLIA 1980



Wrong position
During the first moon landing, the sun was situated at the right side below the earth. The illumination of the earth is thus not correct.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1969



Wrong colours
The colours of this rainbow have nothing in common with a real one.


SPAIN 1995



Not visible
From where Apollo 11 landed on the moon, the earth was not visible.


ALGERIA 1969



Too short
The distance between the polar star and the great Bear (Ursa Major) is much longer.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1959



Wrong direction
According to the map, the sun is rising in the Nord.


TURKEY 1931



Not visible
The earth was not visible from the surface of the moon during the first moon landing in 1969.


GUINEA 1969



Inverted colours
The colours of this rainbow were inverted.


GERMANY 1974



Wrong position
Wrong position of the left big star.


BRAZIL 1966



On her side
The earth is shown inverted with a vertical equator.


ALGERIA 2008



Wrong quote
Armstrong made an error while pronouncing his historical words : instead of 'That is one small step for a man', he said 'That is one small step for man'.


AJMAN



Not the first
The first Earth satellite was not the USSR's Sputnik, but of course .... the Moon !


GRENADA 1985



Too big
Halley's comet is really out of proportion.


GRENADA GRENADINES 1985



Rainbow
Wrong representation of a rainbow, the colors were inverted.


BRAZIL 1993



Rainbow
Wrong colors in this rainbow


ALGERIA



Wrong colours
Rainbow with inverted colours


ISRAEL 1979



Inverted colours
Inverted colours in the rainbow


GERMANY 1995



Inverted colours
Inverted colours in the rainbow


PORTUGAL 1981



Missing colours
Missing colours in the rainbow


PORTUGAL 1984



Wrong shadows
On the left the shadow on earth is not coherent to the position of the sun, and on the right, there is no reason to have a red shadow.


BULGARIA 1965



Wrong proportions
The relative sizes and de position of the inner planets and the sun are not respected. And where is the moon ?


SWITZERLAND 2009



Strange
There is no atmosphere and thus no oxygen on the moon, how explain the impressive flame during the landing process ?


BARBADOS 1989



Wrong moment
The solar eclipse in Zagreb had its peak at 12.48 pm, on the FDC this event is marked at 10.47 a.m.


CROATIA 1999



Simplified colours
Simplified colours of this rainbow.


JAPAN 1993



Wrong shadow
The shadow of the different objects has to bee parallel as the sun is far away.


GERMANY 1999



Wrong side
The part of earth illuminated by the sun is dark


SPAIN 1992



Mooncycling
Cycling competition on the moon, why not ?


RUSSIA 1972



Non visible
Orio is not visible in the sky of Botswana, only in the Northern hemisphere


BOTSWANA 1972



Non visible star
A star cannot be visible in the dark part of the moon surface.


PAKISTAN 1956



Inverted letters
The Irish word for moon is gealach, not gaelach.


IRELAND 2019



Climate change
Clouds behind the sun ? The climate change is everywhere.


SWITZERLAND 1956



Not coherent
Incoherent design of sunbeams


RUSSIA 1966